17-letter words containing h, f
- scientific method — a method of research in which a problem is identified, relevant data are gathered, a hypothesis is formulated from these data, and the hypothesis is empirically tested.
- scientific theory — a coherent group of propositions formulated to explain a group of facts or phenomena in the natural world and repeatedly confirmed through experiment or observation: the scientific theory of evolution.
- scratch 'n' sniff — denoting a product that releases a smell when scratched
- seat-of-the-pants — using or based on experience, instinct, or guesswork: a seat-of-the-pants management style.
- self-annihilation — self-destruction; suicide.
- share certificate — a certificate of deposit issued by a credit union.
- shoot one's cuffs — to expose one's shirt cuffs beyond the coat sleeves
- shutter-preferred — of or relating to a semiautomatic exposure system in which the photographer presets the shutter speed and the camera selects the aperture.
- sign of the cross — a movement of the hand to indicate a cross, as from forehead to breast and left shoulder to right or, in the Eastern Orthodox Church, from right shoulder to left.
- significant other — Sociology. a person, as a parent or peer, who has great influence on one's behavior and self-esteem.
- single-sheet feed — a mechanism for feeding or taking single sheets of paper into a printer
- sister of charity — a member of one of several congregations of sisters founded in 1634 by St. Vincent de Paul.
- sixty-fourth note — a note having one sixty-fourth of the time value of a whole note; hemidemisemiquaver.
- sixty-fourth rest — a rest equal in time value to a sixty-fourth note.
- skin of our teeth — a play (1942) by Thornton Wilder.
- south farmingdale — a town on central Long Island, in SE New York.
- south frigid zone — the part of the earth's surface between the Antarctic Circle and the South Pole.
- south west africa — a former name of Namibia.
- south-west africa — a former name of Namibia.
- southern studfish — See under studfish.
- spaghettification — the theoretical stretching of an object as it encounters extreme differences in gravitational forces, especially those associated with a black hole.
- spanish influenza — the pandemic respiratory infection that spread throughout the world during 1917–18.
- specific humidity — the ratio of the mass of water vapor in air to the total mass of the mixture of air and water vapor.
- speech difficulty — a problem encountered in speaking
- spoonbill catfish — flathead catfish.
- star of bethlehem — the star that is supposed to have appeared above Bethlehem at the birth of Christ
- star-of-bethlehem — any of several plants belonging to the genus Ornithogalum, of the lily family, having grasslike leaves and clusters of white flowers.
- stare in the face — to gaze fixedly and intently, especially with the eyes wide open.
- straight arm lift — a wrestling attack, in which a wrestler twists the opponent's arm against the joint and lifts him or her by it, often using the shoulder as a fulcrum
- striped killifish — a killifish, Fundulus majalis, of the Atlantic coast of the U.S., the female of which is marked with black stripes.
- sulfonyl chloride — a colorless liquid, SO 2 Cl 2 , having a very pungent odor and corrosive to the skin and mucous membranes: used as a chlorinating or sulfonating agent.
- sulfurated potash — a yellowish-brown mixture consisting mainly of potassium polysulfides and potassium thiosulfate, used in treating mange.
- sulphur butterfly — sulfur butterfly.
- take the edge off — If something takes the edge off a situation, usually an unpleasant one, it weakens its effect or intensity.
- take the place of — replace, be a substitute for
- take to the floor — If you take to the floor, you start dancing at a dance or disco.
- teaching software — computer software for use in providing online education
- technical offence — an action which is prohibited by law, but for which no blame can be attached to the person who commits it
- tetrafluoroethene — a dense colourless gas that is polymerized to make polytetrafluorethene (PTFE). Formula: F2C:CF2
- the age of reason — the 18th century in W Europe
- the bag of tricks — every device; everything
- the carboniferous — the Carboniferous period or rock system
- the confederation — the original 13 states of the United States of America constituted under the Articles of Confederation and superseded by the more formal union established in 1789
- the depths of sth — the deepest, most intense, or most severe part
- the factory floor — all the workers in a factory
- the facts of life — the details of sexual behaviour and reproduction, esp as told to children
- the faint-hearted — people of a nervous disposition
- the fall (of man) — Adam's sin of yielding to temptation in eating the forbidden fruit, and his subsequent loss of grace
- the final curtain — the closing of the curtain at the end of the action of a play
- the final whistle — a blast on a referee's whistle to indicate that a game is over